Russian draughts, duel

Russian draughts, duel plays the familiar checkers format with one meaningful rule change: capturing is entirely optional rather than forced. That single difference opens up a much sharper layer of tactics, since you can deliberately decline an available capture if taking it would leave you exposed to a worse counter-capture in return. Reading a few moves ahead becomes essential, because your opponent has that same freedom to set traps rather than being forced into an obvious jump. Pieces that would be captured automatically in standard checkers can survive here simply because taking them is not worth it for the other side, which changes how boldly you can advance early on. For players who already know standard checkers, this optional-capture rule opens up a noticeably sharper, trap-heavy version of a very familiar game.